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I want to talk about Jimmy C. for a minute....He came here with some expectations. And we've seen him inserted into the starting lineup many times, including the MAC title game two years ago when Nate had that bad eye injury. I've yet to see anything that indicates that he'll be anything other than a role player. And at times last year, he seemed to be buried at the end of the bench.But....WOW......the last couple of games he's really started to produce.Now, I can't say that if I was his coach that I would have continued to give him more chances to start in hopes that he would suddenly become a big factor, but this could end up being the defining move for KD this season. I hope it continues.Seriously....did anyone...honestly....EVER think we'd see this kind of production from Jimmy?

Deeustin...Once again...I hope you are right, and the problem will eventually be corrected. But even though you state that "I'd take that if I was a coach", I can tell you've never coached. ANY coach, at ANY level who I have EVER been associated with in 30+ years of being involved in basketball would be concerned about a poor assist/turnover ratio from your PG. Now...even if I was just a regular fan....what is the problem you have with someone pointing out a problem area for a particular player? It's part of being a fan. Relax. I'm sure that gozips19 was just doing the same thing, and I don't quite understand why you seem compelled all the time to quickly criticize what amounts to a pretty fair and accurate critique at this point.

Ahhh....the realities of MAC football. When a school in our league has to lose a coach over budget issues that don't enable them to justify an extra $50,000, it just about tells the whole story. So, lets officially put an end to the "let's just fire JD and go out and find a proven winning coach and pay him" argument. Bleacher Bum...great point. San Diego probably has the most pleasing weather in the country. Consistent sunshine, no humidity, and little rain year round. I know people who live in that area who do no have either a furnace or an air conditioner in their homes. You don't need either of them. Can you imagine???

And do we ever need defensive playmakers.

gozips19...your point number 2 is an important one. I've brought this up before, and a couple of people choose to get defensive about it, but the numbers speak for themselves. Actually, you are noticing that the problem is that he is trying to dribble OUT of double teams, but the problem is that he is dribbling himself right INTO those double teams, and THEN attempts to maintain his dribble and gets it poked away trying to dribble out. I've been around young basketball players for the past couple of decades, and you really want to see a PGs assist/turnover ratio be somewhere around 3:1, and his ratio is somewhere around 1:3...completely the opposite of where it should be. I'm sure any coach would be concerned by this, and I am sure they're working on it. I'd love to see that get cleaned up sooner rather than later, but oftentimes there's no quick fix when it's a style of play issue. Actually, when Ronnie returns that may help solve some of the problem. Ronnie is very efficient in this area, and will give Humpty the rest he needs so that he is fresher when he is on the floor, and may be able to concentrate more before he gets himself caught in so many of those kinds of situations.

I'm still puzzled why people try to make the argument that our formula is better than Can't's. Can't has won with transfers. It's hard to argue. I've heard this, "well...it's going to backfire on them" argument before....for many, many years. But in the meantime, they just keep winning titles, and making postseason appearances. Where did this mindset come from that JC transfers are in some way a "no no"? Many, many schools go to the JC ranks for help. I'm never going to say that we should, or should not go after these guys. But, if a situation presents itself that can help the team, why shouldn't we at least be taking a look at it?

I guess you have to look at each situation, and evaluate.I totally agree with Captain that I would sure trade our accomplishments for Can't's MAC titles, NCAA tournament appearances, and NCAA tournament successes over the last decade. They obviously have found a way to make the JUCO system work. Remember....the last time we appeared in the NCAA tournament....our team was carried by a JUCO transfer.

I think it's a foregone conclusion that we have to win well over 20 games to get an at-large to either tournament.

skhorbotly....you're post is right on the money. It's not so much that a guy like Bardo isn't scoring, it's that the opponents can see that he is not even attempting to score. If an opponent sees that you don't have to worry about the guy in the post, it makes their life a lot easier. And without the threat to score in the post, the inside-out ball movement is less effective in freeing up open shooters. I like your point about the MAC teams. In a couple of weeks we will no longer be playing the Walsh's, Fairleigh Dickinson's, Urbana's, NCA&T's or Eastern Kentucky's anymore. Our league teams will be better than most of the teams we've played thus far, and will be better prepared.You can only have so much success throwing the ball around the perimeter and shooting 3-pointers.

I just would have wished that he could have come here on a night with a great basketball atmosphere. I don't think that will happen tonight considering the opponent, and the students leaving town.

This is certainly no surprise. I guess I was just still hoping maybe it wouldn't happen. Knowing that NC got to the final does indeed add a little frustration. The national championship was certainly shaping up well for us, until we had our advantage stripped away from us. This really could have been our year to take it all, and it still hurts.

I'm going to guess that Alex Sullivan has been officially redshirted. He was the guard who committed after his junior year, and averaged something like 26 ppg at Riverside HS. I was really looking forward to seeing him play ever since I heard that he made his verbal to Akron about a year and a half ago. I know a lot of people who saw him play in high school, and he was outstanding. He can score, and is a tenacious defender. Maybe having him a year behind all of these other freshmen might be a good thing for us in the long run. Anyone know anything about his status?

WOW.....I'm doubting that KD would just give up his long journey to get back to major college coaching to take an administrative job. As far as an announcement that we are keeping JD....does anyone recall that this type of thing is very common? I actually expected that we would hear nothing. Captain....nice analysis. You are right that coaches who were not hired by the current AD seem to always be on a shorter leash. But, it appears Mack believes in continuity, and the direction that JD is headed, and doesn't want to take the risk of a setback, which is now a likely scenario at BG and Miami. I believe that JD is the right man for Akron...that we showed many signs of improvement this year...and that the fruits of his labor will become even more evident next season.

GP1...good point. Successful D-1A programs take chances on kids. You have to do that. Maybe it happened too often, and it cost us in the early JD years, but I'm sure some good players came out of those chances as well. As I say to my friends all the time.....if we are going to run a program at this level by only giving opportunities to high character guys, with good academic records, who come from great families, etc., etc......you'll have an Ivy League level football program.....so, we might as well ask for permission to join that league.

GP1....I'm sorry, but Jac will not even remotely reach the level of success of Frye. Charlie holds tons of Akron passing records, was a 3rd round pick, became a starter his first year, and holds the 5th highest completion percentage of any rookie QB ever, playing on one of the worst offensive units I have ever seen. Jac will come nowhere close to accomplishing any of those feats. In fact, if I ranked the last 4 Akron starting QBs, I'd rank him last behind Frye, Getsy, and Washington...and it's not even close. If he even gets a chance to make a CFL roster, I'll be surprised.This is not to say that I have not seen improvement in him....and that he cannot have a good senior year. He just doesn't have anywhere near the talent of those 3 other guys.

If only Humpty learns real fast to run the offense, and that his value as a ball handler and a passer is far more valuable than any points he might score. The last I looked, he only has 3 assists this year.

Good thoughts.I still think our most immediate problem is rebounding. That is why I think Nik, Chris, and Nate should play the most minutes in the frontcourt.

The sad thing is....this kind of injustice may prompt a change to the rule, but it's too late to help us. I sure wish our people would have gone kicking and screaming to the NCAA offices the next day. It just stinks of favoritism, if you ask me. We aren't N. Carolina, so the rule wasn't applied the same way. And what about the fact that NW was not going to travel to Akron until Friday anyway?? We had 3 more days to show that our field was ready, and we weren't given the chance. It's just beyond comprehension.By the way....I LOVE Mac's comments.

No doubt....Bain could be a real, real key piece to an improved defense.

OUCH...so much for hoping that we'd have a true PG ready by conference play.

Quickzips...I know what you're saying about Humpty. I wish I could say he should be a starter at the point guard position in my analysis. But up to this point, he seems to be more of an offensive sparkplug looking to score points, as opposed to a floor general who can run the offense effectively. And the fact that he only has a few assists through 5 games is really unacceptable if he is going plays a lot of minutes at the point. This is why I give the nod to Ronnie.

If the pep band can't play Humpty Dance......I hope we can at least count on hearing it sometime over the PA system. We can't pass up an opportunity like that.

This could be a fun discussion. So far this season, we've seen many different lineups, and some crazy shifts in what guys are producing from game to game.But just for the sake of an early season discussion, who do all of you believe should be the starting five? Keep all considerations in mind: scoring, defense, assists, our desperate need for rebounds, etc.Here's my 5 as of today:StewardRobertsC. McKnightCventinovicLinhartI figure, this gives us our best front line to resolve our rebounding problem, and still be able to score points. I'd kinda like to see B. McKnight there, but I think his points off the bench are far more valuable to us right now. I think Roberts is emerging as our best 2-guard, and Steward will end up being our best choice to quarterback the offense, and hand out assists. The next 5....to round out the rotation:HumptyMcNeesB. McKnightBardoConyers

Captain....herein lies the debate among so many of us on this site. Do we consider the close games a positive sign that we are closer to being in position to win a MAC East title again?or....Do we say "a loss is still a loss".Count me as one who supports the top statement.

g-mann.....I think I can answer part of your question. I don't think anyone will dispute that 3 of those losses were to teams that were just better than us this year, meaning Buffalo, BG, and Temple. All 3 finished ahead of us in the standings, two of them beat us on our home field, and one of them beat us on the road convincingly. But there is good news also....as you state, some of these games were very close....and all of these teams mentioned above face some key losses to graduation this year.